Preparations for the 18th Lok Sabha elections are going on in full swing in the country. Along with the Election Commission, political parties are also continuously making preparations for the election campaign. But do you know who can use government aircraft for election campaigning? Today we will tell you who has the right to use government aircraft.
The Prime Minister of the country
Let us tell you that during the election campaign, only the country’s The Prime Minister can use the government plane. Apart from the Prime Minister, no other leader is allowed to use government aircraft during election campaign. Other parties and leaders can use their private or hired aircraft only during elections.
When did the use of government aircraft start
There is an interesting story behind the use of government aircraft during elections. According to the information, from the first election in 1952 till now, 17 Lok Sabha elections have been held. This is the 18th general election of the country. Of all these, the Prime Minister is the only leader who can use the government aircraft for election campaigning. This incident is from 1952, when the country’s first general elections were about to be held, at that time the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not want to travel by government plane for the election campaign. At the same time, Congress did not even have enough money to provide aircraft to Nehru at its own expense for four months for the elections. This has been described in Durgadas’s book ‘Curzon to Nehru’. Has gone. It is written in the book that the Auditor General said that it is necessary to protect the life of the Prime Minister from all kinds of dangers. This can happen only when the Prime Minister travels by plane. Because traveling by plane he did not need the huge security staff that would have been needed if he had traveled by train. The security of the Prime Minister is a national responsibility, hence the nation should also spend for it.
The Prime Minister had to pay rent
According to the information, rules It was decided that Nehru would pay the same fare to the government for his journey as a passenger has to pay in an airline. The government will pay the fare for the security staff accompanying it and the PM’s own staff. Whereas if a Congressman travels with the Prime Minister in this plane, he will also pay his fare.
After Nehru, other Prime Ministers also got this facility
< p>After former PM Nehru, this system was available to other Prime Ministers also. Let us tell you that the Prime Minister is the only person in the government who can use the aircraft provided by the government. There is no prohibition on that from the Election Commission. At the same time, the Prime Minister does not have to personally pay any expense for the plane, he only has to pay for his travel expenses. These expenses are also borne by their political parties from their own funds.
How does the PM go where there is no airport?
Now in most places in India Airports exist. But if the PM goes to places where there is no airport, then the Air Force provides him with a small plane or helicopter. Whose expenses are borne by the PMO. In response to a question asked in an RTI, it was told that from February 2014 to May 2017, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made 128 non-official visits. For this, the PMO had paid Rs 89 lakh as expenses to the Air Force.
Also read: Election Ink: Which chemical is present in the election ink used at the time of voting, because it does not get erased easily after being applied?
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